Hushed Up
Page 17
She leveled the gun directly at Myrtle’s chest. Myrtle and Miles looked at each other in panic.
Suddenly, the door was shoved open and Puddin appeared.
“Where’s my watch?” she demanded.
When she took in the scene in front of her: the white-faced Myrtle and Miles, and Bianca, who’d swung around with the gun, Puddin started screaming bloody murder.
The sound was ear-piercing. It was a wail very much like a siren on all the emergency vehicles rolled into one.
“Stop it! Stop it!” yelled Bianca.
Which was when Dusty pushed his way in past Puddin and waved his hedge trimmer threateningly at Bianca. Puddin continued screaming, the decibel level increasing as time went on.
While Bianca was distracted by the cacophony, Myrtle looked at Jack’s toy ambulance, which Red still hadn’t come by for. Miles, seeing the direction of her gaze, pushed it over to her with his foot. Myrtle slipped up behind Bianca (who was ducking as Dusty swung the hedge trimmer at her) and launched the toy at her head. Suddenly, the ambulance’s broken siren roared back into life and wailed as loudly as Puddin had, lights flashing.
They all stared at the unconscious Bianca on the ground. Myrtle carefully picked up the gun and cleared her throat. “Perhaps now would be a good time for someone to call Red.”
Chapter Twenty
Red and Perkins were there in minutes. They must have felt like they were on stage since the entire neighborhood was out on their lawns staring at Myrtle’s house.
“I’ll take that, Mama,” said Red eyeing the gun Myrtle still clutched in her hand.
He and Perkins arrested Bianca. The deputy ushered her into the back of the police car as the neighborhood gaped at the scene.
Red walked back in briefly to tell everyone to leave the living room and go into the kitchen for a few minutes. He had to yell over the sound of the siren, which was still going off.
“Was this the toy you were trying to saddle me with?” he barked at Myrtle.
Myrtle said with a shrug, “The siren was broken until I hit Bianca with the ambulance.”
“This toy stays at your house,” said Red. Then he loudly said to everyone, “I’ll be back in with Perkins in fifteen or twenty minutes.”
Once he walked out, Miles picked up the ambulance and removed the batteries and the house was suddenly quiet although Myrtle’s ears were still ringing . . . whether from Puddin or the siren, she wasn’t sure.
When Red and Perkins finally joined them, Puddin was finishing Myrtle’s bottle of sherry and her pale cheeks were now a blotchy red. Dusty had found an ancient beer can Red had left at Myrtle’s house ages ago. He’d poured the beer over ice, which just showed how desperately in need of it he was. Myrtle and Miles had made coffee.
Red and Perkins pulled some chairs from the living room into the kitchen and got their notebooks out.
“Now would somebody like to tell me what happened?” asked Red in a tight voice.
Puddin burst out indignantly, “Came in to get my watch I done left here. An’ when I came in, that woman was holdin’ a gun on your mama and Mr. Miles.”
Myrtle said coldly. “I’ve never even seen you wear a watch.”
“New revolution,” said Puddin, glaring at her.
“Resolution,” said Myrtle.
Red broke in, “Stop it! Tell me about Bianca.”
Puddin gave him a resentful look. “Done told you. Her was pointin’ a gun at your mama. Dusty came in to save us.” She fluttered her eyelashes at Dusty and Dusty beamed shyly at her.
“That’s not what happened at all!” said Myrtle. “Dusty charged in with a hedge trimmer that wasn’t even turned on and created a distraction. I smashed Jack’s ambulance on Bianca’s head, thereby disabling her.”
Perkins said politely, “Perhaps, Mr. Bradford, you could give us your version of what happened.”
Miles looked pleased. “Yes. Well, Myrtle and I were working on crosswords from a book Red and Elaine had given her.”
Now Red looked pleased his gift was being used.
Miles continued, “When the doorbell rang, Myrtle went to the door and Bianca forced her way in with a gun.” He paused. “Myrtle had already figured out Bianca was the murderer.”
Red’s brow wrinkled. “How? How did she do that?”
Myrtle said smugly, “It all started when Wanda said anger is powerful.”
Red’s gaze lifted to the heavens.
Perkins prompted, “Mr. Bradford?”
Miles cleared his throat. “Like I said, Myrtle had already figured everything out. She knew about Carolyn Segers, for example.”
Red frowned. “Carolyn, the librarian? How on earth does she figure into this?”
“Oh, she doesn’t! Not really. But she gave Myrtle information about Bianca going to Lillian’s house. And then Bianca spoke about the feeding station to Myrtle at the auction.”
Red held his head as if it had started pounding.
“Anyway, those were all clues Myrtle needed to put two and two together,” finished Miles with a shrug.
“Doesn’t even have real booze in her house,” Puddin muttered, shooting Myrtle a venomous look.
Red leaned forward in his chair toward Puddin and Puddin leaned backward. Red said, “Do you have any other information to add, Puddin? You or Dusty?”
Puddin considered this for a moment and then said reluctantly, “Nope.”
Dusty shook his head.
“Then you can both leave,” said Red crisply.
Puddin spluttered, “But her has my watch.”
“If she does, which seems extremely unlikely, you can look for it the next time you’re here to clean. Which is?” he looked at his mother.
“Tomorrow morning,” said Myrtle immediately. She might as well get a cleaning out of this nonsense.
Puddin opened her mouth as if to contest this, saw Red’s face and muttered sourly under her breath as she got up and headed for the front door with Dusty behind her.
“Now, let’s try this again. Mama?” asked Red.
Myrtle took a deep breath and a momentary complacency at having the spotlight. “Bianca was angry. She was also really desperate. Lillian was planning on firing her after she said she botched an arrangement at an event. To Lillian, Bianca had done something unforgiveable and she was done with her. Lillian was a perfectionist and Bianca wasn’t perfect.”
Red made a face. “I guess she was desperate, considering she’s a single mom and everything.”
“Exactly. Bianca didn’t see a way she’d be able to find another job in Bradley and she didn’t want to move her son to another school district in another town after all the changes he’d already been through. So she went to Lillian’s house to reason with her.”
Perkins nodded. “And the conversation didn’t go well, apparently.”
“Lillian didn’t listen to her. She was dismissive. And Bianca was frustrated, picked up the dog feeding station, and lunged at Lillian.” She paused for effect and continued, “Bianca mentioned the fact an auction item was used as a weapon when she and I were speaking at the auction. And I knew no one knew that.”
Red frowned. “You should have called me right when you found out.”
Myrtle shook her head. “It didn’t come together for me then. It was only when Miles and I were here in the quiet of the house that it occurred to me. It’s when I also realized something else—that Carolyn Segers mentioned Bianca being at Lillian’s house from time to time. And Bianca told Miles and me she’d never been to Lillian’s.”
Miles nodded.
“Plus, we’d seen Martin playing around with that silver business card case of his directly before he said he was going over to the flower shop to see his new business. The way he was fidgeting with it, it would have been easy for him to have left it on a counter or table in the back room. Bianca grabbed it, thinking it might be
useful later. She planted it after she’d killed Tallulah,” said Myrtle.
Perkins said, “Tallulah, living next door to Lillian, obviously saw Bianca at the house.”
Myrtle said, “She either saw Bianca there or realized later that Bianca’s car was there. Either way, it sounds like something that gradually dawned on her instead of something she realized right away. At the funeral, Tallulah was clearly trying to wait to speak privately with Red. Miles and I noticed it. And Bianca noticed it, too. She also noticed Tallulah was behaving oddly around her and put two and two together.”
Perkins smiled at her. “Good detective work, Mrs. Clover.”
Myrtle beamed at the praise.
Red sighed. “Well, all’s well that ends well.”
Myrtle said, “I do feel badly for Bianca’s little boy. What will become of poor Tim?”
Perkins said in a steady voice, “I think he’s going to be all right, even if he will have to change schools and move. The team contacted Bianca’s mother and from what we understand, she’s more than happy to take him in. Maybe she can even persuade the husband to pay child support.”
“Or I can,” glowered Red. It looked as if a phone call to Tim’s dad was on his list of things to do.
Perkins stood up, “I don’t think we need any other information, do we, Red?”
Red shook his head. “Not at this point. Mama, you should get some rest.”
“I’m wide awake,” said Myrtle, looking at him through narrowed eyes.
Perkins said mildly, “Perhaps working on the crosswords again would make for a relaxing activity. After the stress you’ve been through tonight.”
Red glanced at the empty bottle of sherry. “I’d advise you to have a small drink, but it looks like someone eliminated that option.”
Miles said quickly, “I have a bottle of chardonnay in my fridge. We could take the crosswords over there.”
“Chardonnay and crosswords. I think that will work,” said Myrtle.
And it did.
About the Author:
Elizabeth writes the Southern Quilting mysteries and Memphis Barbeque mysteries for Penguin Random House and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and independently. She blogs at ElizabethSpannCraig.com/blog, named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers. Elizabeth makes her home in Matthews, North Carolina, with her husband. She’s the mother of two.
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Ilove hearing from my readers. You can find me on Facebook as Elizabeth Spann Craig Author, on Twitter as elizabethscraig, on my website at elizabethspanncraig.com, and by email at elizabethspanncraig@gmail.com .
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Did you know my books are available in print and ebook formats? Most of the Myrtle Clover series is available in audio and some of the Southern Quilting mysteries are. Find the audiobooks here.
Interested in having a character named after you? In a preview of my books before they're released? Or even just your name listed in the acknowledgments of a future book? Visit my Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/elizabethspanncraig .
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I’d also like to thank some folks who helped me put this book together. Thanks to my cover designer, Karri Klawiter, for her awesome covers. Thanks to my editor, Judy Beatty for her help. Thanks to beta readers Amanda Arrieta and Dan Harris for all of their helpful suggestions and careful reading. Thanks to my ARC readers for helping to spread the word. Thanks, as always, to my family and readers.
Other Works by Elizabeth:
Myrtle Clover Series in Order (be sure to look for the Myrtle series in audio , ebook, and print ):
Pretty is as Pretty Dies
Progressive Dinner Deadly
A Dyeing Shame
A Body in the Backyard
Death at a Drop-In
A Body at Book Club
Death Pays a Visit
A Body at Bunco
Murder on Opening Night
Cruising for Murder
Cooking is Murder
A Body in the Trunk
Cleaning is Murder
Edit to Death
Hushed Up
Southern Quilting Mysteries in Order:
Quilt or Innocence
Knot What it Seams
Quilt Trip
Shear Trouble
Tying the Knot
Patch of Trouble
Fall to Pieces
Rest in Pieces
On Pins and Needles
Fit to be Tied
Embroidering the Truth
The Village Library Mysteries in Order (Debuting 2019):
Checked Out
Overdue
Memphis Barbeque Mysteries in Order (Written as Riley Adams):
Delicious and Suspicious
Finger Lickin’ Dead
Hickory Smoked Homicide
Rubbed Out
And a standalone “cozy zombie” novel: Race to Refuge, written as Liz Craig